The Ideal Interpreter: Didactic Perspectives, Practitioner’s Views and Client Expectations

Abstract

Translation and interpretation are essential in our multilingual and multicultural societies. In this context, the role of the interpreter becomes more vivid and frames its urgency despite the technological advance that shapes many spheres of our life. Thus, the present article, will look into the concept of ‘ideal interpreter’, what ‘ideal’ stands for and, most importantly, it will present a comparative approach to what is meant to be a skilled interpreter from three perspectives: the teacher involved in training and educating interpreters-to-be, the practitioner – actor of the realities of the process of interpretation, and the client – whose expectations sometimes reach the realm of utopia in relation to the interpreter’s aptitudes.